David McAndie MC DCM MM

[Blue Puttees]

Here are two excellent portraits of David McAndie 10th Battalion CEF. The DCM and MM ribbons, 10th Battalion collar badges and formation patches can be seen.

http://svwm.ca/mcandie-david/

"Soon after the outbreak of the First World War, David volunteered for army service, leaving his homestead in the capable hands of his brother, Hugh. Initial training was in Canada, and he gained early promotion, because of his previous service. After training, David was transferred to serve with 10th (Alberta) Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force (Later to become known as The Fighting Tenth) because they were the only Battalion to fight in every major battle in France. David quickly made a name for himself, and rapidly rose through the ranks. He was mentioned personally in the dispatches of General Sir Douglas Haig, for his conduct during the battle for Vimy Ridge, after which he was Commissioned, eventually attaining the rank of Captain. As Officer Commanding A Company, he led his company in an advance well in front of the allied line, to liberate the town of Caix, an action for which he was awarded the Military Cross, to go with the Distinguished Conduct Medal and the Military Medal, he had been awarded in previous actions.

David was killed in action on 15th August 1918."

[48th]

http://m.ebay.com/itm/251634174978?nav=WATCHING_ENDED


It sure is an amazing picture of an amazing man.

[Mike B]

There are few veterans who can equal that amazing display of medals. In no way wishing to draw attention from David McAndie MC DCM MM, or to corrupt what is a proud 'Canadian' thread - here is another later example relating to 'Clem' Clemence, noted purely for interest given the combination of Gallantry Awards. It will be interesting to see what the grouping realises:

Lieutenant, Late Sergeant, P.P. 'Clem' Clements, Parachute Regiment and X Troop 11 SAS.

NOTE MEDALS DUE FOR SALE ...on 20 November 2014 - through Spink and Son

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Lot 9 – The Outstanding Second War
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The Outstanding Second War 'Battle of the Bulge' M.C., 'POW Clandestine Operations' D.C.M., 'Operation Colossus' M.M. Group of Nine to Lieutenant, Late Sergeant, P.P. 'Clem' Clements, Parachute Regiment and X Troop 11 SAS. One of the Founding Members of the Airborne Forces, As Senior N.C.O. for X Troop He Took Part in the First British Airborne Raid, Operation Colossus, 10.2.1941. Taken POW after the Raid, He Undertook a Secret Role For MI9, Before Successfully Escaping from Sulmona Camp, 12.9.1943. Commissioned into the Parachute Regiment, He Led His Men With Distinction Against Heavy Armour in the Forests of Ardenne, 1945. He Was Wounded Four Times Fighting a Rearguard Action, Before Passing Out Due To Loss of Blood
a) Military Cross, G.VI.R., reverse dated '1945'
b) Distinguished Conduct Medal, G.VI.R. (2564415 Sjt. P.P. Clements. Leic. R.)
c) Military Medal, G.VI.R. (2564415 Sjt. P.P. Clements. Leic. R.)
d) India General Service 1936-39, one clasp, North West Frontier 1937-39 (2564415. Sjt. P. Clements. Leic. R.), partially officially renamed
e) 1939-1945 Star
f) Africa Star
g) Italy Star
h) France and Germany Star
i) War Medal, generally very fine or better, with the following related items:
- Escaper's Compass, used by recipient
- Escaper's map of the Swiss Frontier area; Emergency Ration tin
- Diary, recorded in pencil whilst evading capture
- Soldier's Service and Pay Book
- Letter of thanks from MI9 to recipient, for work carried out in the POW camp, dated 16.11.1943
- Letter of congratulation on the award of the D.C.M., from Lieutenant Colonel L. Winterbottom, MI9, dated 26.4.1944
- Note written by recipient, whilst wounded in the Ardenne, requesting an ambulance for two wounded soldiers, signed and dated 6.1.1945, subsequently added to by recipient 'I started to write this but could not finish it off'
- Letter of congratulation on the award of the M.C., from the commanding officer 12th Parachute Battalion
- Portrait photograph of recipient in uniform, and a file of copied research into Operation Colossus (lot)

M.C. London Gazette 12.4.1945 Lieutenant Percy Priestley Clements, D.C.M. (327224), Army Air Corps (Nottingham)
The Recommendation states: 'On 5th January 1945 Lt. P. Clements commanded a platoon which was given the task of occupying a position on the feature North of Grupont dominating the area in which the 12th and 13th Parachute Bns were operating. The patrol reached its objective by 0300 hrs and took up a position as ordered. During the following nine hours the platoon lay up in a wood on the feature, which was also occupied by the enemy, reporting enemy movements and inflicting casualties including the killing of the officers of a recce group which approached the position.
At about 1200 hrs the platoon came under accurate fire from close range. Lt. Clements, although fully exposed to enemy fire, personally passed the necessary fire orders for the artillery to engage the area held by the enemy. The enemy then brought up at least one Tiger tank which engaged the area held by the platoon. By this time the platoon was coming under accurate fire from the rear as well as the front. Lt. Clements then decided that the platoon must withdraw. He organised the withdrawal down the very exposed slope of the feature.
At the first ...rd he was wounded in the stomach. Although he could not move himself he continued to command the platoon, and issued necessary orders for the remainder to withdraw. Throughout this period the platoon had no food and was exposed to very severe weather conditions. It was entirely due to the fine leadership, determination and example of this officer that the platoon carried out its task and was able to withdraw when this task had been completed.'

D.C.M. London Gazette 2.3.1944 No. 2564415 Sergeant Percy Priestly Clements, The Leicestershire Regiment.
'In recognition of gallant and distinguished services in the field.'

The Recommendation by MI9 states: 'Sgt. Clements was a member of a party of parachutists dropped in Calabria in February 1941 to blow up an aqueduct, who were subsequently captured by the Italians. Shortly after capture they were taken to Camp 78, Sulmona, where Officers and Other Ranks were placed in separate compounds, no communication between them being allowed. Despite this regulation Sgt. Clements, who took charge of the most secret communications in the Other Ranks compound, managed to maintain clandestine communication with the Officers, and exchanged with them particulars of all secret messages received from the War Office. He also arranged the despatch of similar messages to the War Office in selected Other Ranks letters and later, when the Officers were moved to another camp, was responsible for maintaining all communication between the Camp and the War Office.

On 12 September 1943, following the Italian armistice, when all attempts to escape were strictly forbidden, Sgt. Clements escaped to the hills. From there, on 14 September 1943, he watched the Germans enter the camp, and he then made up a party with Sgt. Lawley and Private Rae, both of the Parachute Regt. and started walking South. Pte. Rae was unable to keep up and fell out at an early stage of the journey, but Sgt. Clements and Sgt. Lawley continued walking as far as Morrone, their journey lasting twenty-two days. At Morrone they hid up for a week until they were able to join the British Forces at Casacalenda on 13 October 1943. Throughout their escape Sgt. Clements was in charge.

In view of the fine work of a secret nature which this N.C.O. rendered, in addition to his initiative in making his escape, I strongly recommend him for the award of the D.C.M.'

M.M. London Gazette 20.6.1946 No. 2564415 Sergeant Percy Priestly Clements, The Leicestershire Regiment (since commissioned in Army Air Corps)

Lieutenant Percy Priestley Clements, M.C., D.C.M., M.M. (1910-1998), enlisted in the Leicestershire Regiment, August 1928. He served with the 2nd Battalion in Germany and at Catterick before being drafted into the 1st Battalion. He served with the latter in India from September 1930, taking in postings at Ambala, Multan, Jubalpore, Razmak and the hills stations of Kasauli and Dalhousie. A naturally fit man, Clements represented the battalion at both football and rugby. Having advanced to Sergeant he returned to England in September 1939. He was briefly posted to Ripon as a Sergeant Instructor under the Hore Belisha Training Scheme. Clements was then posted back to his parent unit when the 7th and 8th Battalions were being raised in April 1940. Keen to be in thick of things he decided to volunteer for special service, 'told that an entry requirement was the ability to fit through a 2 foot diameter hole, he suspected that he was headed for the commandos and submarine hatches. He was surprised to find himself in No 2 (Parachute) Commando which became the first SAS unit, 11 SAS, and to discover that the hole was in fact in the floor of a Whitley bomber!' (Obituary refers)

'X' Troop 11 SAS Battalion
The British airborne establishment was formed, at the order of Winston Churchill, in June 1940. The first airborne unit to be formed was Clement's unit - No. 2 Commando. This in turn was renamed No. 11 Special Air Service Battalion. Carrying out training, primarily at Ringway, for the rest of the year approximately 60 were selected for advanced training. In January 1941 the numbers were once again reduced and Clements helped form X Troop 11 SAS.

Operation Colossus was the codename to be used for the first airborne operation undertaken by the British military. The force was to be parachuted in and destroy a fresh-water aqueduct over the River Tragino near Calitri in south-western Italy, thus cutting off the main water supply to the strategically important province of Apulia, including the town of Taranto. It was also an important propaganda exercise to show the reach of the British military.

Finally selected, 'X' Troop 'counted eight officers and 31 other ranks; seven officers and 29 men were scheduled to drop in the actual operation. One officer and two other ranks were held in reserve as replacements.

Moving from their billets at Knutsford to a special accommodation at Ringway itself, 'X' Troop immediately started a rigorous training programme. It lasted six weeks. Each morning, before breakfast, the men had a three mile run, followed by thirty minutes P.T. After breakfast, they had a 15 mile march with full kit. During the day, they had aircraft or container drill, gun practise or lectures on withdrawal and escape. At night, they practised night drops.

A full-scale wooden mock-up of that part of the aqueduct to be attacked was erected in Tatton Park behind Tatton Hall… Here the troops spent the afternoons and evenings training the attack and practising the demolition routine. Plans called for about half a ton of explosives to be placed against the aqueduct piers. In time, the engineers became so efficient that they could do it in just over half an hour.' (Tragino 1941: Britain's First Paratroop Raid, K. Margry)

Operation Colossus - The First British Airborne Raid
Clements, who was the senior non-commissioned officer on the raid, provided his account of the operation in the Leicestershire Regiment's journal (The Green Tiger) in May 1944. Obviously given the date at which it was written and the secret nature of the operations he was involved in, including during his time in the prison camp, it is a contemporary if rather toned down account:

'My story begins in June, 1940, when volunteers for paratroops were first asked for… Among the seven of us who volunteered were Sergt. Cook Cpls. Lymer and Shutt… Shortly after our first interview, three of us were notified that we had been selected for this new branch of the Service, and Cpls. Shutt and Scott and I duly presented ourselves for training at a Northern aerodrome. Better pens than mine have described the training undergone by paratroops, yet I would like to add that after six months' ground and air training I felt fitter than I'd ever been before.

Towards the close of 1940 volunteers were asked for the purpose of carrying out work of sabotage in enemy territory and practically all the personnel of the first four troops (officers and 200 men) volunteered. It was at this time, too, that the first demonstration was given to the General Staff. This took place on a perfect day, and I'm sure we left behind a very good impression, both in the ground and on the minds of the spectators. On this particular day I set up records for low drops and getting from plane to ground. But I was too scared to think of that at the time. In fact, my fright was so great that I just sat there limply in the harness and waited for the bang. Imagine my surprise when I landed perfectly with the chute covering me like a shroud.

Early in January, 1941, about sixty of us were detailed for "an advanced course" in demolitions and automatic weapons, plus plenty of forced marches at five and six miles to the hour. Even on the first day I felt sure that this was destined to be much more than a course, and when later it came out that we were rehearsing our first operation everyone tried to outdo the remainder in keenness. We were told eventually that it was a night job and speculation was lively among us all as to where we were dropping in. Most of us, I'm sure, thought it was bound to be one of three places - France; somewhere in North Africa; or in front of General Wavell's army, which was sweeping up towards Tripoli. The last guess was somewhere in Abyssinia.

Finally, thirty-six of us were selected and we took off for an unknown destination from an eastern aerodrome on the evening of 7th February. We arrived the following morning and found we were in Malta. Then for three days we carried out our final preparations.

At 4pm on 10th February we were given air photographs of our objective and were told it was an aqueduct on the Italian mainland. Shortly afterwards orders came to get out to the planes, and to the tune of "Oh, what a surprise for the Duce!" we drove out to the waiting Whitleys [8 aircraft made up from from 51 and 78 Squadrons].

We took off at about 5pm and made ourselves snug and comfortable….We were still up at about 4,000 feet and could not recognize the ground below; fifteen or twenty minutes later, though, we were down to 500 feet and looking at a broad valley which we had seen many times back in England. We had studied models and maps so much that it was almost like working at home again. Our pilot sent word back that he would fly over the objective three or four times before sending us out. This he did, and we all saw the aqueduct below as we made these dummy runs. I was No. 1 and the signal to go was "Red light, stand by 15 seconds; green light, go." I can't say I felt unconcerned as I sat there, but I do know I was not worrying much. Then the fun started. The signal came green - red just like that and I almost went out. Again we circled, and again it came green - red, only this time with a half-second pause between the two. I had almost gone and shouted to the two behind me to grab my harness. They did so, and I spent the next ten minutes hanging out of the Whitley while we went round again. This time everything was in order, and when green came I just said "Let go." My chute had just developed when I heard a short burst of machine-gun fire. I was looking up at the time and saw flashes from the rear turret of the plane I'd just left. It was the rear gunner's farewell salute to us.

The ground was ploughland with lots of water in furrows, and I made my softest drop ever. But whilst in the air I'd been able to pick out only two other chutes, and when the section closed we found that our arms containers had failed to drop. After contacting No. 1 Section at the aqueduct we discovered that theirs, too, had failed to drop. So we felt much happier when No. 3 Section came up and reported present and correct, and we all shared their quota of arms. No. 4 and 5 planes came over with R.E. and explosives, and the job was started; No. 6 plane had reported engine trouble at Malta, and nothing more had been heard of it. So in the absence of Capt. Daly, R.E., 2/Lieut Paterson, R.E., assumed command of the charge-laying. He had 1,500lb. of explosive instead of 2,500lb. brought out, and as the aqueduct was reinforced he decided to cut the western pier and use a lifting charge under the abutment on the same end. Only about twenty civilians had been encountered and six were employed to carry up the containers. The remainder were too terrified to try to get away and stayed put in their houses.

At 0017 hrs, one slab of guncotton was exploded as a signal that everything was ready, and around this time a plane fled past at about 4,000 feet. We learned ten days later that it was No. 6 and the section were dropped seven miles too far east.

All sections now withdrew to a point 300 yards west of the aqueduct and the final touch came when it went up. The C.O., Major T.A.G. Pritchard, Royal Welsh Fusiliers, was dancing with joy when he came up to tell us that we had cut it in two over the mined pier. This meant that all fresh water and the electric power generated from the system were cut off for Foggia, Bari, Brindisi and Taranto. We received ample confirmation of this weeks later.

Well, the job was done, and now all that remained was to get back to the appointed rendezvous with the submarine Triumph. We had seventy or eighty miles of country to cross, and we split into three sections of eight, eleven and eleven. We didn't know at this time that Capt. Daly and four men were even then starting back, too, from where they had been dropped to the east.

My section was commanded by a grand little Scots-Canadian, 2/Lieut. Jowett. That first night's travel was something to remember. Although we kept on for over three hours, we covered only about eight kilometres in actual distance owing largely to the hills and also the mud, which was well above the knees for the greater part. All three sections rested for the following day within a radius of about three miles, and at 7.30pm on the 11th we were off again. Dogs barking marked our progress practically the whole way. At midnight we crossed the snow line, and then started down on our journey to the coast. In all, that night from 7.30 to 2.15am, we covered about twenty-five miles of very broken country, during which our section's interpreter, F/Lieut. Lucky, R.A.F., had to drop out with a damaged knee. We finally halted for a day on a small, bushy mud island out in the centre of the Sele River. When dawn came we were wet and cold and stiff, but had great hopes of pulling through. But at 8.30am first a dog and then an old man saw us hiding. Scores of people were working on the near bank of the river, and we decided to make for the hills again. So we pushed off and hid again on a hill about 900 feet high with lots of cover. We had been seen, however, and by 11.30am we were surrounded by about 250 civilians with shot guns and 150 carabinieri and infantry. Against this we had one tommy-gun, seven pistols and three knives.

However, Mr. Jowett said he would cover our dash down hill and we would try and burst out of it. After burning our maps, photographs, etc., I took the lads out and down. Lieut. Jowett fired a long burst over the civvies' heads, and they scattered about; two ran diagonally towards him, and these he put down with two bursts of rounds, and then he hit an Italian officer who was coming up the hill. By this time the Italians below had opened up, and how we got down the hill I have no recollection. It was a mad scramble, and when we finally took cover in a plantation below we were still encircled by the "Ities", who continued showing their skill as rapid firers.

Finally, as six of us could not even fire back, we were compelled to surrender. Everything we carried was stolen either by the troops or the civvies, and then they heard for the first time that the two Italians up on the hill were dead.

We were marched over to a bare patch where the bodies lay, and a very hysterical civilian with two pistols assumed charge of a firing squad of twelve civilians armed with some very ancient double and single barrel shotguns. To us the bores seemed to be a foot in diameter. What saved us was the fact that the hysterical chap liked to hear himself talk, and while he was still raving a W.O. of the carabinieri came up and took over. We were marched back to the nearest village and were told there that another section had been caught about seven miles away. Our treatment at this time was not too bad and we were moved to another place - Calitri, where we found that every one of the three sections had been caught. From here we were sent to Naples jail, and we were shackled together with the worst handcuffs and chains I have ever seen. Our wrists and hands were useless when the irons were taken off. At Naples we were photographed and finger-printed, and underwent seven or eight interrogations. Six days after arriving there the last section of No. 6 plane came to keep us company. They had lasted from the Monday night till Saturday afternoon before being caught, and they were very close to the coast. Three weeks saw us moved from Naples and we arrived in our new home, Sulmona Camp. At this time there were only 350 prisoners in the whole of Italy, and we were treated fairly well with lots of food to eat.

For two months we were kept separate from the remainder whilst Rome decided what action to take against us. Eventually we were told that we would join the other prisoners of war. Before this took place, though, we read in the Italian papers that one member of our party had been executed at a place near Rome. His name was Fortunato Picchi, aged 45. Before the war he worked as a waiter in the Savoy Hotel, London, and volunteered for the job from an internment camp. It goes without saying that he was an exceptionally brave man to go with us. For us, caught, there was still a chance to live - but for him none at all.

For the first seven months at Sulmona we actually had too much to eat and even had to burn bread, macaroni and potatoes so that the Italians would not cut the ration down; then we lost all fresh fruit, eggs, fish, etc., and had the other rations cut by 50 per cent. This lasted until September, 1942, and then the ration was cut again by 60 per cent. This meant that each man received 6 2-5 lb. of food every week, and for ten weeks of this period no Red Cross parcels arrived. Luckily no one died, but towards the end everyone in the camp began to complain of stomach cramp, and another month or six weeks would have just about finished us…. Many attempts were made to escape from Sulmona by different fellows. None succeeded, though, and it has the record for Italian camps, as it was used in the last war for Germans and Austrians, and no one got away from there then…. In August and September of last year [1943] American Liberators boosted our morale by making two attacks on Sulmona station and the railway and a munitions factory nearby. Prisoners stood waving on the roofs and window sills as bombs blasted the targets. What a diversion for us! Then, on 8th September, we got news of the armistice whilst a football match was in progress. At first no one would believe it, and even when the truth sank in we shook the Italians by keeping quiet about it and carrying on as before….

Though I have not dwelt in detail when speaking of life in a prison camp, I cannot stress too strongly the great effect such life has on a prisoner from the mental point of view, and I swear that I will never be caught again. Barbed wire has its uses for us, but to appreciate it fully it should only be looked upon from the outside after having first studied its holding properties from inside.'

Tragino 1941: Britain's First Paratroop Raid adds further detail to the capture of Jowett's men, 'More trucks arrived, this time with armed troops. With these firing over their heads, the peasant force began moving up the hill from both sides, spread out in lines abreast. As the first line topped the mound below them, Jowett loosed a few shots above their heads. When this did not halt the advance, he fired three aimed bursts. Three men, a carbinieri and two civilians, fell and the rest scuttled down the hill. Jowett ordered a shift in position to a small copse a bit further down, telling the men to run down to it while he occupied the Italians. They all made it, except that Trooper Crawford was hit in the arm by an Italian bullet. They joined the fight with their pistols, but it was a lost battle. The Italian fire intensified and the copse was riddled with bullets. Jowett ordered the others to surrender but Sergeant Clements refused to give up without him. Only after the lieutenant agreed to come with them, did Clements rise and signal surrender with a handkerchief.

The Italians were in a foul mood. Jowett's bursts had killed two of them and several more had been wounded. A civilian, armed with a rifle, two pistols and with two crossed bandoliers across his chest, took charge and ordered the prisoners stripped to the waist. They were marched down the hill, lined up against an outcrop of rock and 20 men lined up facing them. With a shock, the Britons realised they were going to be executed. Lucky tried telling the Italian that they were now prisoners protected by the Geneva Convention, but the little man reacted by putting his pistol against Lucky's head, shouting that they were murderers and ex-convicts. Next, he began an excited speech, inciting the crowd to avenge the death of the two Italians and have no mercy on the British bandits. He raised his arm and the firing squad took aim. He was about to give the command when, from the right, an army officer on horseback appeared, at the gallop and shouting 'Militari! Militari!' He halted between the firing party and the prisoners, leaped from his horse and with a gloved hand struck the bumptious Italian across both sides of the face. Next, he turned to the prisoners and explained, in English, that they were now safe in Army hands and would be treated as prisoners-of-war.'

POW - Clandestine Operations
Clements took on a special and secret role once imprisoned at Sulmona Camp, establishing clandestine communication between the prisoners and the War Office. The men of 'X' Troop once imprisoned, 'showed that they were of a different brand. Pritchard soon set up an escape committee, and he was the leading spirit behind many plans. Although not all attempts were successful, all officers of 'X' Troop made at least one escape attempt. Lea and Deane-Drummond made a daring attempt on the night of December 8/9 disguised as electricians and using a makeshift ladder. Jumping down the other side of the wall, Lea was hit in the leg by a sentry and only Deane-Drummond got away. He almost made it to Switzerland. While he was away, Lucky escaped across the wall with a ladder too, but did not get very far before being recaptured. As punishment, Pritchard, Paterson, Lucky and Deane-Drummond were sent to Campo 27, a special camp for dangerous prisoners in a monastery near Pisa…

Meanwhile, back at Sulmona, Jowett had escaped too. Helped over the wall by Sergeants Clements and Lawley, he managed one train journey towards Switzerland , but was recaptured while changing to another train. For their part, the sergeants and men of 'X' Troop worked on a tunnel for three months and it had already progressed some 172 feet when it was discovered.' (ibid)

In September 1943, as the German Army arrived at the camp to transport the prisoners back to Germany, Sergeants Clements and Lawley made good their escape. After a gruelling four-weeks march south through the mountains they reached Allied lines on the 13th October. In difficult mountainous terrain, poor weather and with scant rations they covered over a hundred miles in 22 days.

Extracts from the pencil diary that Clements kept during the escape give a flavour of the conditions, and the German hunt for other POW's at large:

Mon 20th - Bad head and chest cold. Reached C.M.M. at 9.30. Met an English speaking couple there. Received eggs, bread and cheese from some women and carried on for Schiavi D'Abruzzi. Met Sgt. Law and another Sgt. at C.M.M. gave us English tobacco for a roller. German ambulance passed us on road we were 25 yds away feasting on raw eggs and dry bread. Scared a man, his wife and daughter. Thought we were Js. Warnes us to carry on as Jerry patrols were near Schiavi. Crossed Tragino River. Jerry plane flew over us at height of 200ft.

Mon 27th - German column moving NE on secondary road from Casacalenda through Guadalfiera i Palato - borrowed glasses to observe better but were too weak.

Thurs 30th - Continuation of yesterday's bombing far off. Heard our lads are only 25 kilos away - but have heard since that it's another false alarm. Italian took 6 through to Foggia but was stopped by Jerry lines which stretch from Termoli to Benevento. Decide to hang on a bit longer here as 3 of us cannot obtain civvies at all and the country past Casacalenda is all open.

Mon 4th - Went for a walk with glasses and saw very large Jerry force moving N on Casacalenda secondary road. Lots of tanks. Our planes bombed during the evening N of us.

Tues 12th - Casacalenda ridge flattened by out artillery impossible to sleep at night - Jerry destroyed the bridge at Guardalfiera and 4 or 5 extremely heavy explosions heard south and west - probably other demolitions by Jerry on Campobasso road.

Weds 13th - Went for a walk… heard we were at Casacalenda (TRUE) so we returned to Chapel… 50 yds from there man and woman screamed at us to escape quick because Jerry patrol from Maronne had come down and was waiting for us… we fled and arrived at Casacalenda just after one. Met our troops there and were moved back to S. Croce di Magliano.'

Clements returned to the UK and was recommended for the D.C.M. by MI9, for his activities as a POW, and his subsequent escape. He was commissioned in to the 12th (Yorkshire) Battalion Parachute Regiment in August 1944.

Battle of the Bulge
In December 1945 Clements was dispatched with his battalion from England to help counter the German offensive in the Ardennes. On the 5th January 1945, Clements' platoon was ordered to occupy a hill on the feature north of Grupon dominating the town of Bure in Belgium. The conditions were horrendous, and the lightly armed Paras faced 'some hours of fighting, enemy armour, including a Tiger tank… Clements called down artillery fire from an exposed position but found his troops were all but surrounded. He gave orders for them to withdraw but during the first bound was wounded in the stomach. Although he could not move himself, he continued to command and gave the necessary orders for the remainder to withdraw. Without food, and in the bitterly cold snow of the Ardennes, he successfully extracted his platoon and continued to engage the enemy with artillery until his own evacuation could be arranged. He was by now severely wounded in the arm, leg and stomach and both bearers carrying his stretcher were killed.' (Obituary refers)

Clements passed out due to loss of blood. When he came round again he was in bed and horrified to see snow covered pine trees. He was convinced he was still in the Ardennes, but as luck would have it he was in an officers' hospital at Gleneagles.

Due to the severity of his wounds Clements was invalided out of the Army. A position was found for him in the Ministry of Defence, and in 1946 after all witnesses had been released from POW camps and debriefed on the first airborne operation he was awarded an M.M. for his gallantry during Operation Colossus.

A D.S.O., four M.C.s and four M.M's were awarded for Operation Colossus. Clements was one of the most highly decorated members of the airborne forces, of which he had been a founder member.


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Estimate:
£30,000 - £40,000
* The description of the above lot by the auctioneer in the language of the auction is the governing description. Any translation using Google translate is a guide only - its accuracy cannot be guaranteed and it is used at your own risk.